Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Buick dealers sold imported Opels from Germany to buyers who were looking for small or sporty cars. One of those was the Opel GT, produced from 1968 to 1973, and it had a passing resemblance to a smaller version of the Chevrolet Corvette. But that’s where any similarities ended, as it was an enclosed car with a 4-cylinder engine. The seller has two of these from 1969 and 1971, along with a picked-over parts car that probably gets thrown in to sweeten the deal. Located in Casper, Wyoming, this duo (or trio) is available here on craigslist for $5,000. Kudos to “Zappenduster” for the tip.
More than 100,000 copies of the Opel GT were produced over the original six-year run. All of them relied on existing Opel hardware such as engines and transmissions, which involved inline-4s and 4-speed manual transmissions. We assume the majority of them were sent to the U.S., and they all had hideaway headlights that were mechanically controlled. The GT was discontinued in the States when it became apparent that meeting U.S. safety standards wasn’t going to work.
The seller inherited these cars from his father. One of them was used by the father in autocrosses and other racing events, while the other was used by the seller while in high school. We don’t know much about the parts car other than that not much is left of it, and the seller has no photos. The seller put a deadline for the sale in the listing, but it has since come and gone, and the cars are apparently still on the market.
We’re told the racer is a 1969 edition and it once had a Buick V6 under the hood. It may have been 25 years since this car did much of anything. The 1971 was used in the 1990s for going to and from school and was parked in the shed where it lies now when those days were done. It was an accident along the way, and the repairs were not professionally performed. All of these machines have valid titles. Do you see a future life here or maybe a cadre of parts for other projects?
What, no propeller?
Yeah, there’s no forgetting that monstrosity.
My sister had a blue Manta, it was a cute fun little car. Good gas mileage and sporty.
Wave $5000 around at a large SCCA Regional event and you would probably have your pick of a lot of stuff that is on the track that day and race ready.
Unless you really, really need an Opel GT, there’s no reason to own this.
When I was 18 I worked for a GM dealership and we repossessed one that belonged to one of “The Marlboro Man”. I cleaned it out to resell. I found a bottle of wine a couple pairs of panties and a class ring and a puca shell necklace. I should still have the necklace and the ring somewhere. He died young and is supposedly buried in the local cemetery.
Those carbs really woke that 1.9 up though…
Used be a couple around Louisville area, one had a Grand National running gear,the other Pro Street big block Chevy called Freddy’s Nightmare..
Buddy of mine from work had one of these. Neat little car, felt faster than it was. But hated big trees…
Anybody remember John Matuszak of the Oakland Raiders? He went to the U of Tampa and drove one of these. It was fun seeing him get in and out of that little car as he was about 285# in college.
The Opels were decent cars but the GTs had lots of wiring problems. There seemed to be somewhere about 2K miles of wire under the dash.
I absolutely love these cars. If these were closer to me I’d buy them and have some fun with them.
Where are you located. I’m in Atlanta Georgia and am willing to to sell mine and it’s in much better condition
“Mini-Corvette”, (or any other reference including the word “Corvette” when describing the Opel GT) is one of the most overused cliches ever penned in the automotive world……
Cool cars. Manual headlights… I almost bought one, and found out they sell an AC kit for them. Saw one in a Hot Rod mag that had a Chevy 350 in it… I think it was called, Hauling Ass…
not around long but left an impression on us all. Some
liked these as much a 1 of the 3 Sonnets. C-3? no, the
look is not even close to me.
The VC design is not easily forgot for those servicing one. A
reliable motor, easy to wrench but hada tiny sump, great canyon
carver w/o hi top end AND… no trunk, boot, or even pocketbook rack…
But
a fraction of the cost ofa vette or stang so how I came across them.
Ople GT were fun cars. If I was closer to these I would go look . Looks like the bodies are in good shape . You could make them into a nice driver without emptying you checking account.